After every game, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander knows what’s coming. He’ll pick up his phone, and there will be a string of text messages from his mother, Charmaine Gilgeous. A typical mom gushing with pride over her son’s accomplishments? Not exactly. The texts usually go something like this:

How did you miss that layup?

Why did you make that turnover?

How come you didn’t defend better?

When she’s finally finished pointing out all his mistakes, Charmaine will then tell her son that she loves him. “That’s as close as I get to a compliment,” Shai says.

Lately, however, there’s been shockingly little for even his toughest critic to nitpick. Unheralded as a recruit a little more than two years ago and regarded as an afterthought in John Calipari’s latest star-studded freshman class, Gilgeous-Alexander has developed into the best and most important player for Kentucky, which plays Kansas State on Thursday in a South Region...